Across the country, Waymo, Cruise, and Tesla Robotaxis are ferrying urban passengers from door to door. But they’re not without their problems. In some cases, self-driving cars get confused, like this Waymo cab that couldn’t quite make sense of a tow truck with its flatbed at an angle, awaiting a tow job. 

A Waymo self-driving cab nearly drove up onto a flatbed tow truck as the operator and a motorcycle cop looked on

“Self-driving cars” are something of a topic these days. Despite lengthy strides in the space, full and mistake-free autonomous driving is still out of reach. And despite Waymo’s best attempts at infallibility, documented issues pop up.

In this case, a Waymo self-driving cab wanted to make a left turn onto a multiple-lane street. What it couldn’t account for, however, was a flatbed tow truck waiting in one of the lanes to load a vehicle.

Now, this wasn’t some typical breakdown or insistent classic car owner awaiting pickup with a flatbed instead of a vehicle dolly. No, this was a case of a revoked driver’s license, expired registration, and no insurance.

As such, a motorcycle police officer was on the scene, pointing in the opposite direction. His camera, however, was recording the tow truck as it loaded the suspect vehicle.

That’s when a self-driving Jaguar I-PACE, one of the vehicles of choice for Waymo’s self-driving cabs, pulled into view. The footage shows the Waymo cab pull in line with the waiting tow truck, as if it were confused by the truck’s presence.

Even with LiDAR arrays scanning and finding the best route ahead, the tow truck seemed to confuse the Waymo cab. The motorcycle officer approached the stunned self-driving cab, but it wouldn’t dare attempt a corrective maneuver.

Waymo’s cabs are cautious and then some

A cursory internet search will reveal paralyzed or confused Waymo cabs. Waymo’s autonomous “Driver” system uses AI, LiDAR, and camera arrays to map the road ahead and monitor obstacles.

At times, the cab will hesitate in the presence of something like a tow truck or a construction site. Even with advanced sensory equipment, it sometimes can’t make sense of what’s ahead. In one case early this year, an Arizona passenger got “trapped” in a Waymo as it drove circles around a small roundabout.

That said, Waymo manages to cover more than 1,000,000 miles of autonomous rides every week. Waymo says that the data suggests that its “Waymo Driver” system is up to 90% less likely to cause bodily harm during a journey than a human driver.